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Laws of Succession
The following section on succession was lifted from the reddit post written by /u/galanix on /r/asoiaf. Not included from the original post are existing lines of succession. Types of Succession Andal Succession A daughter before an uncle. It is the same as male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Pretty much all Houses with the exception of the Dornish and Targaryens follow Andal succession laws. In this form the eldest legitimate son inherits followed by that son's descendants. A daughter can inherit if she has no living legitimate brothers, and those brothers have no heirs. A younger sibling inherits only if his elder sibling died without any descendants. Targaryen Succession An uncle before a daughter. This is a form of agnatic primogeniture, which greatly favors males over females inheriting. Female lines are disinherited, so males typically always inherit before females, even collaterally related males (i.e. uncles/brothers over daughters). It's not entirely clear how male-driven the Targaryen succession was, since they never had to look very far for a suitable male heir. It's likely a female could inherit if they were the last descendant of the patrilineal lines (male derived lines). For example, a more distant male relation from a female line (e.g. king's sister's son) wouldn't inherit over a daughter of a king, but a male relation from a male line (e.g. king's brother's son) would. (credit to /u/feldman10 ) The Targaryens at first followed Andal succession, but started following this form of succession following the "Dance of the Dragons"when Rhaenyra and Aegon II (half-siblings) fought over their father's crown. Dornish Succession It is essentially absolute cognatic primogeniture or equal primogeniture. This makes no distinction between gender; it is the oldest legitimate child and his/her descendants that inherit. Bastards In any of the above laws of succession, bastards do not inherit at all. However, if a bastard is legitimized they stand to inherit after all trueborn children, including daughters and younger siblings (credit to /u/Axetronaut ). Although this is not always the case and can be a point of contention and dispute. This is why Roose is convinced that Ramsay will kill any children Fat Walda has, because those children would be trueborn to Roose and thus come in line before Ramsay (ADWD 32: Reek III). Typically only acknowledged bastards (i.e. ones welcomed into the father's house) are legitimized. Ramsay Snow, Jon Snow, Aurane Waters, Edric Storm, Joy Hill, and the Sand Snakes are all examples of acknowledged bastards. People like Gendry and Mya Stone are unacknowledged bastards, so it is exceedingly unlikely they would be legitimized, as they would need proof of their lineage and they have none. Also, only a King can legitimize a bastard, not a Lord or even Lord Paramount. Exceptions These succession laws are not set in stone. They can be amended and circumvented so long as the sitting Lord desires it. For example, Tyrion is technically Tywin's heir at the start of AGOT (since Jaime refuses to renounce his vows and inherit). However, Tywin tells Tyrion in ASOS that he will not allow him to inherit Casterly Rock and will pass over him in favor of Cersei. Another notable exception is the Iron Islanders' kingsmoot, in which a leader is chosen regardless of lineage based on voting. This is only used sparingly and during extenuating circumstances. It's what allowed Euron to be crowned ahead of Theon and Asha. Multiple Titles A person can hold claim to multiple titles. For example, Tommen is currently King, Lord of Storm's End, and Lord of Dragonstone. He is also next in line for Casterly Rock behind his mother. He could hold all four titles if he wanted to. Robert gave his Storm's End lordship to Renly by choice. Category:Guides Category:Customs